Laverne Cox, actress from "Orange Is The New Black," has become the first transgender person to ever appear on the cover of Time Magazine.

An activist for LGBT rights, Cox was born a male and is a twin with her brother. She spoke to Time Magazine about growing up wanting to be different and realizing her gender identity in the third grade.

"This lovely b'day present, a cover story to highlight the profound issues trans people face every day," she Tweeted yesterday. See the Times Magazine cover here.

Cox's twin brother played a small part in "Orange Is The New Black," to represent her, pre-transition. In the show her character of Sophia was a married firefighter with a child. Sophia could be seen wearing women's garments underneath the firefighter gear, and the audience learns later that she became transgender. This causes great stress on their marriage and relationship as a father with the child.

In real life, Cox was forced to go to therapy to help with her "sex confusion" when she was younger and her family was unnsupportive. She said people have to be "willing to let go of what preconceptions we may have of people who are different from us and taking people on their word."

"'Calm down. Relax. It's okay. Who is this individual right in front of you?'" she said to Times Magazine. "When it comes to terms, trans or gender-nonconforming are two great terms that can encompass a variety of different experiences.

This cover is sure to stir up some controversy among American's who are split on how to feel about transgender people.